BHP class action

About the BHP Class Action

On 5 November 2015, the Fundão tailings dam at the Germano mine in Minas Gerais, Brazil collapsed in the largest tailings dam rupture ever recorded. The mudflow killed 19 people and has had a catastrophic and enduring impact on the surrounding communities and the environment.

The mudflow created by the dam rupture ultimately travelled 600 kilometres to the ocean, creating a toxic brown plume visible from space. 700 people lost their homes, 8,500 fishermen lost their livelihoods, and 400,000 people lost access to fresh water. It is the worst environmental disaster in Brazil’s history.

The Germano mine is operated by Samarco Mineração SA, a joint venture of BHP and Vale SA. BHP is an Anglo-Australian owned multinational and the world's largest diversified mining and mineral resources company.

The BHP Class Action is an open class proceeding and seeks recovery of investor losses incurred up to 30 November 2015 by BHP Ltd and BHP Plc shareholders because of BHP’s alleged failure to disclose material information to the market and its alleged misleading or deceptive conduct.

The BHP Class Action alleges that BHP Group Ltd:

(a) contravened its continuous disclosure obligations between 8 August 2012 and 9 November 2015 (inclusive) (Claim Period) by failing to properly inform the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX) of BHP’s knowledge of the Fundão dam (located in the Germano mine in Minas Gerais, Brazil, operated by Samarco Mineração SA, a non-operated joint venture between BHP Billiton Brasil Ltda and Vale SA in Brazil) being at risk of failure, and knowledge that if the dam failed serious adverse human, environmental, and financial consequences would likely result;

(b) engaged in misleading or deceptive conduct by representing to the ASX (by publishing in its annual reports between FY11 – FY15) that:

(i) the primary consideration in every aspect of BHP’s business was the safety of its people and the safety and sustainability of the environment and the communities in which it, and its subsidiaries, carried on business; and

(ii) BHP had effective systems and processes in place to identify and effectively manage risks to the safety of its people and the safety and sustainability of the environment and the communities in which it, and its subsidiaries, carried on business, including the Samarco mining operation.

The BHP Class Action alleges that investors who acquired BHP Ltd or BHP Plc shares in the Claim Period are entitled to compensation for loss and damage caused by or resulting from the conduct of BHP Ltd as alleged in the Third Further Amended Consolidated Statement of Claim dated 25 March 2025.

The allegations are denied by BHP Ltd. BHP Ltd defended the class action and the Settlement acknowledges that BHP Ltd makes no admission of liability or any other admissions beyond those specifically pleaded in the pleadings filed with the Court in the Proceeding.

Full details of the allegations made by the Joint Applicants and of BHP Ltd’s defence against those allegations are set out in the Third Further Amended Consolidated Statement of Claim and the Defence to the Third Further Amended Consolidated Statement of Claim, which can be found in the ‘Key documents’ section above.

The BHP Class Action was partially funded by G&E KTMC Funding LLC, which is backed by Grant & Eisenhofer and Kessler Topaz Meltzer & Check, two of the United States’ most successful and respected shareholder litigation firms.